I still call Australia home
by JoshHutchersonlover21
Summary: Alex a runaway from her home in Wyoming USA, boards a boat to Australia. In hopes of getting away from her family. Now a drover for Faraways Down, Alex must confront the hells of the war and the hells of the place she calls home.
1. Ruins of Darwin

**I own nothing except Alex…The rest belongs to 20****th**** century fox and the other creators of Australia.**

In Australia the aborigines believe that everyone has a story. Some sort of background they can tell others. Sometimes their cool and sometimes their very boring. Everyone I know have cool stories, their always fun to listen to…my story. Well let's just say it isn't as much fun to hear. Why am I writing this then? Maybe I want someone to hear it. Maybe I'm bored, and have nothing better to do. Who knows…not me. My name was Susan Carlson. Now I'm known as Alex. Just Alex. I've given up my real name, my real home, my real family, to board a boat to an island full of culture. At least that's what I thought…back home in the US it was boring, torture. I left Wyoming thinking this island was where I would feel at home. Boy was I wrong. This country was nothing but ruins of a once lively place. Where am I? Ha! Isn't it obvious? The country of Australia…the city I'm in? Darwin…or what's left of it after the attack from the Jap's. Why am I here then? Well I thought an outback adventure would be fun, and I was away from home. Yet I'm stuck in a city with no thrill…no life. No people. Except for the soldiers who are doing clean up. Every time I would move forward, trying to find an exit to this city, a solider tried to direct me south.  
"I'm not going south." I tell every single solider who got in my way.  
"It's the safest place now, the north is too dangerous." One of them told me.  
"Fine." I got in face. "If the Jap's wanna kill me, let 'em. I'll go out of this world kickin' and screamin'." I says to him and walked away. Leaving the man standing there in shock. I move on to the dessert and the ruins of Darwin behind me.

The outback…is HOT! Who the hell knew during their winter time, the dessert still felt like 108̊̊̊?  
"Damn!" I complain and wipe the sweat from my forehead. I fell to my knees, and let the sun beat down on me. I soon came face to face with the hot ground beneath me and laid there. Too weak to move. I let my eyes drop and soon the world was black. I heard sometime in my world of darkness someone talking. She was panicking, and yelling to someone else.  
"We can't just let her lay here!" She yells.  
"What are we supposed to do Sarah? Bring her back to faraway downs with us?" A man asks. He sounded mad.  
"I'm not just going to leave her here Drover. We'll bring her back with us and home." She says. The man sighed and soon I was lifted up in the air. "I wonder where she's from." The woman said. I was laid down on a more comfortable surface.  
"Who knows." He no longer sounded mad. And with his last sentence we were moving. Who knows where…not me.

**R&R and tell me what you think. This is my first Australia fanfic that has nothing to do with the movie, this is afterward. Tell me what you think of Alex :3**


	2. Alex Just Alex

**Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter. Sorry this one took so long! It's longer than the last chapter. Enjoy! R&R please :)**

With every bump the car I lay in hit, my head began to ache even more. My throat was dry and lips were chapped. I wanted water to heal my burning throat. The car came to a sudden stop, and my whole body shifted an inch. The door to the car opened and someone spoke after hours of silence.  
"I'll get her Sarah. Just get your bag." The mysterious man says. My body was lifted up in the air again, and he began walking. "Sorry about this." He said like he knew I was awake this whole time. He began climbing some stairs, and soon my body hit the comfortable surface of a bed.  
"Bandy get some water, and a few more pillows." The woman orders. Soon three or more pillows were shoved under my head, and a hot towel was pressed against my forehead. Then after that, there was more silence. As if I needed the silence. Oh yeah that sure helps my aching head! There's nothing left to do that just sit here, and let my body wake up. Sounds like a whole bunch of fun, lay here in the dead silence. Not knowing where I was. Hopefully my body wakes up soon so I can make my way to Bowen. I can't waste time like this, someone's waiting for me. C'mon body time to get up! Ugh!

I don't know how it is that I'm laying there. Months. Years. Days. Hours. I have no clue. The only thing I did know is that the only voice I ever heard anymore was the woman's. The mysterious man wasn't around anymore, at least nowhere near me. The now cold towel left my forehead and was replaced a warm one. She brushed some of my hair out of my face. She took a deep breath, spoke.  
"It's been 2 months and yet you're still not with us." She says. Wait…2 months! Ok now seriously c'mon body move! I've wasted so much here…I need to get going. "What's going on in that head of yours?" She asks me. Lady you don't wanna know!  
"Mrs. Boss there are people here to see you." Someone else say.  
"Thank you." She says and with that I'm left in silence. It wasn't long after she left that my eyes opened. The bright light of the sun hurt my eyes, and didn't make my head feel any better than it was. I looked to my right and notice the ice cold water that lay on top of the table closest to me. I attempt to grab the water, and end up falling to the floor. I push myself up onto my hands and knees, and with a lot of effort I grab my water, and chug it down. Once gone, I take in my surroundings. The place was small but nice. I get to my feet and walk around, using the wall as support. I open the back door, and walk out into the humid air. It was hot, but not as hot as it was before. I stand against the doorway for a moment, and begin walking again. Unfortunately not making it very far, before my knees gave out.  
"Damn! C'mon!" I say quietly to myself. I get up again and begin walking. I stop when I feel the earth beneath my feet being to shake. It's then that I see the hundreds of horses coming my way. I watch them, not frightened like most would be. I hear the woman talking somewhere behind me to another man. I ignore their conversation and keep my eyes on the stamped coming my way.  
"Oh god!" The woman yells. "Stop!" She yells. Yet it's too late. The horses engulf me, running to either side of me. They gave me enough room to spread my arms out, feeling their manes hit my fingertips. The wind they bring to me feels wonderful against my heated skin. Soon it was over and my knees gave out from under me again. The woman ran over to me, and dropped to her knees ready to catch me. When I didn't collapse onto her, she sighed.  
"What were you thinking?" She asks me.  
"I wasn't." I told her. She laughed lightly, and helped me to my feet.  
"You're not the smartest person in the world. Are you?" A man asks me. I turned my head and saw the mystery man sitting upon his horse. I glared at him, and looked away.  
"That's not very nice Drover." The woman says to the man.  
"Do you see normal people walking into the middle of a stamped Sarah?" He asks her. She didn't reply to him, and turned her attention to me.  
"Are you all right?" She asks.  
"I'm fine." I say.  
"Now let's get you inside and into some new clothes." She says with a smile. I couldn't help but smile back at her. "What's your name?" She asked.  
"Alex. Just Alex." I tell her.  
"Well Alex it's nice to meet you. I'm Sarah Ashley." She says.  
"Likewise. What's your friend's name?" I ask her. She laughed lightly again.  
"That's Drover." She says.  
"Lovely name." I say. I turned to look back at him…huh. Well Shit!


	3. Tell Me Your Story

**All right! Chapter 3 is up! Thank you all who left such positive comments, they were a lot of help! Enjoy chapter 3 and leave a review telling me what you think!**

We entered the place Sarah Ashley called home, and into what looked like to be her room. She closed the door behind us, turned on the radio, and opened the closet. I looked at the pictures on the walls, while she picked out some clothes for me to wear.

"Who's this in the picture with you and that other guy." I ask her. She looked at me, and soon turned back to start picking out some clothes.

"That's Nullah." She says. I look to the other pictures, not wanting to go into depth about her life's story.

"Your from England?" I ask her. She nods and throws something onto the bed for me to wear.

"Well here you are." She says and made a way to the door. "I'll let you get dressed and then why don't you come down for some tea?" She asks. I nod and she closes the door. I strip off my clothes and put on the ones she gave me. I look in the mirror and roll my eyes. To famine. I walk out the door, and walk around the house until I find her sitting outside on the front porch. I walk to the door and pause for a minute. I take a deep breath and walk outside. She looked my way and gasped.

"You look wonderful." She tells me. Yeah right. I feel confined, trapped in the clothes I wear. I sit down across from her, and another woman sets down a teacup in front of me. Now I'm from Wyoming. Back there we drank soda, and the adults drank beer. I have never even held a teacup before, so I stare at it. Maybe if I thought hard enough it would disappear.

"Something wrong?" Sarah asks me.

"No. Well, it's just where I came from…we really don't drink tea." I say.

"And where is it you are from?" She asks me. At first I wasn't sure if I should tell her. Maybe she knew the government, and they would send me back to hell. I keep quiet for a moment, and think of something to say. Maybe I should tell her, and maybe she wouldn't say anything to anyone.

"I'm from Wyoming." Great! Thanks fat assed mouth. I owe you one.

"Oh my. Why are you here then?" She asks me right before taking another sip of her tea.

"Well you see…I wasn't really wanted back home, so I left." I say. She takes one look at me before looking to the men that stood around the stables.

"Your parents sent you away?" She asks.

"No…I ran." I say. She didn't ask anything after that, instead she watched the men break the horses they just brought back. I was happy she didn't ask anything after that. I wasn't in the mood to tell anyone my story at the time. Lets just say it isn't a happy one. The silence between Sarah and I was killing me, so I opened my mouth.

"How did you meet that other guy?" I ask. She looked at me, with confusion at first. Then that turned into a slight blush.

"It's a long story." She says. I picked up my cold tea and took a sip. Gross! Not a fan of the horrible black stuff that mixed with water.

"I've got time." I say. She laughed lightly, and handed me a napkin.

"I suppose you do." She says. "Where should I start?" She asks herself.

"From the beginning." I say. That's when she began to tell me her story. Her story was a good one I guess. Mostly about finding love, and thinking she lost the love of her life, and some aboriginal child she called her own. He story went on for a while; it ended right before the sun went down. I listened the entire time, not once turning to look away or to blink. She sighed at the end of her story; it ended with how she found me on he ground in the outback. I was surprised when she told me I was a ways from civilization, or water. I thought I was close to Darwin before I collapsed of heat stroke.

"And that's my story." She ends.

"And you're sticking to it?" I ask her.

"Excuse me?" She asks. I giggled. Yep me…giggling!

"That's just an expression we use back in Wyoming." I say.

"Oh." She laughs. "Well it's getting pretty late, lets call it a night shall we." She says. I nod and help her clean up. "Lets get you settled somewhere more comfortable than the couch in the homestead." She says.

"All right." I agree and follow her to some random room.

"My room is right down the hall if you need anything." She says. I nod. She leaves the room and I settled into the bed fully clothed. I lay on my back, with my hands behind my head, and look out the window. I watch the starts for some time, before sleep takes over me. Guess I was tired after all…huh.


	4. Sunrise

**I dont own Australia...please dont sue me. I have no money and nothing to offer! R&R :)**

The next morning was horrible humid, I suppose that's what you get for being out in the dessert. I was awake before anybody else, so I made my way outside. I stand there for a while, getting a better look at the surroundings. Soon I'm moving around, and come face to face with the giant water tower that stood to the right of the house. I climb the ladder, and take a seat. I watch the sun rise over the horizon with only the sound of thee birds waking up. It was peaceful for a while, I almost fell back to sleep.

"You plan on sitting up there all day?" Someone asks me. I look down the ladder and see the Drover. I roll my eyes, and sit back down. I don't know where he got the ok to come sit with me, but he came up and stood behind me.

"Sarah not awake yet?" I ask him.

"Nah, she's still sleepin'." He says. There was nothing but silence for a while.

"Wow." I gasp.

"What?" He asks.

"The way the sky looks when the sun is coming up. It looks red." I tell him.

"Pretty bloody amazing huh." He says. I nod in agreement. "They say that the red sky in the morning sailors take warning." He tells me.

"What do they say about red sky at night?" I ask him.

"Red sky at night…sailors take fright." He says. I smile and he sits next to me. We sat in silence again for a while before I stood up.

"My ass is killin' me!" I complain. He laughs a little and stands to. I climb down from the water tower, and jump from the last 3 or more steps. The Drover climbs down after me, and we walk back in to house. I walked into the house and took a seat on the couch in the living room. Sarah came out the second Drover came in, she had a shawl over her shoulders, and was still in her nightgown.

"What's everyone doing up so early?" She asks both of us. Neither of us answer at first, until we all sit on the couch as the other woman brought in so tea, a beer, and some coke.

"We were just watchin' the sun rise." The Drover answers. Sarah hums and takes a sip of her tea. I turn my attention out the window and watch one of the wild horses run around his prison bucking wildly.

"A drove to Bowen?" I hear Sarah ask. Bowen?

"Bowen?" I ask.

"Yea, taking about 1,600 cattle out to sell to the army." The Drover says. I sit there for a while taking in what he told me.

"How many are helping you with the drove?" Sarah asks.

"5 including myself." He says.

"That's hardly enough people." She says.

"Not many out there who want to help." He says.

"I'll help." I say. Both of them look at me with confusion. "I've done cattle drivin' before." I inform them.

"I think that's a great idea!" Sarah announced. "This will give you a way to see Australia, and give you something to do other than sit here." She says.

"All right." Drover says and sets down his beer. "If I'm gonna let you do this, then I need to see what you can do." He says and stands, then looks at me. "Shall we?" He asks. I stand and make my way outside; both Drover and Sarah follow me. Boy of boy are they in for a surprise. I stand in the gateway as the Drover brings over the horse I'll be ridin'. She huffed at me, and I approached her slowly. I pet her nose and slowly round her and climb onto the saddle. I get seated and wait for my instructions. The Drover seats himself on his horse and we both ride out to the padlock to let a few of the bulls free to practice.

"Now we're trying to get the bulls up there." He says and points ahead a few miles. "If you can do that, then your able to come on the drove with me." He says. I nod and tap my feet on the horse's sides and she begins to move. I move behind the bulls and push them forward. The move nicely and soon I make to where I was suppose to get. The Drover rides up behind me, and checks to see if all the bulls are where they're supposed to be. "Well done." He says. "Took Sarah some time to get the bulls in the right direction." He tells me. I smile and lean forward on my horse.

"Guess that means I'm goin' with on the drove?" I ask him.

"Yea, that means your comin' with on this drove." He says. I sit up on my horse and smile.

"I'll race you back to the padlock." I challenge him. He laughs.

"As if you can bet me love." He says. I take off on my horse leaving him in the dust, getting a head start. He follows behind me and soon we're head in head for the lead. He won this race, but there be plenty more, and I'll be the winner of those. Sarah watches us from the porch with a smile, while drinking her tea. Maybe after the drove…I'll be coming back here to stay…who knows.


	5. The Devils Liquid

**Don't own anything except Alex at this point. There will be 2 or 3 more characters to come into this story sooner or later. R&R enjoy :)**

I sigh as I'm awakening again for the fifth time in one night; I roll over onto my back and stare at the ceiling for a while then sit up in bed. I look out the window and see the wild stallion buck around in the dark. Wanting freedom, wanting to get away. I look around the room and see a house coat hanging in one of the closets. I take it out and leave the room. I walk over to the padlock, and stared more closely at the horse. I climb onto the padlock and over to stand in with him. He seems to calm down a little and stare at me. I put my hand out to him and he approached me slowly. I know how much danger I'm putting myself in by being in here with a wild animal. Yet he didn't seem to have a problem with me being in here, his muzzle met my hand and his eyes slid close. I was too far gone to hear the approaching footsteps from behind me. The stallion sure did and all too soon he began bucking. I moved fast to the gates of the padlock, yet I wasn't fast enough and got kicked in the back by one of his hoofs. I yelped in pain and rolled under the padlock. I sat up against the padlock in pain, and that's how Sarah and the Drover found me. I closed my eyes and made it look like I had fallen asleep outside, they fell for it. I was shaken and Sarah was talking to me.

"Alex…wake up sweetheart." She says. I open my eyes and she smiles. She helps me up and I lean against the gates. I hold back the gasp of pain, and force a smile. "What are you doing out here?" She asks me. I shrug, to afraid to use my voice. "You're all dirty to." She hummed. "I'll get a bath ready for you." She says and walks into the house.

"How bad is it?" The Drover asks me. He found out? How? I look at him and the tears fall from my eyes. I never cry unless I'm in intense pain, and this time I was. I put a hand over my eyes and let sobs fall from my mouth. He outs an arm around my shoulders and let me cry it out. I've been in pain before, believe me. Yet I've never felt anything this bad. "What were you thinking?" He asks me. I couldn't answer the question…the pain was too much. When we heard Sarah call me for the bath we parted and I made my way to the house for my bath. She smiles when I enter the bathroom and leaves me to disrobe and get into the bath. I bit back a curse that almost falls from my lips as my back sinks into the hot water. I look over my shoulder at what had happened to my back and tears sting my eyes. Toward the side of my back lay the wound from the horse. Some skin was torn, and my back was a bloody mess. I look away and let out a sob. The water turned a light red from the blood comin' from my back. A light knock on the door made me worry…I jumped from the tub and pulled the plug from the water. The door opened and there stood the maid/woman who serves tea. She carried in some bandages and some ointment. "Thought it would be weird if I came in and put some bandages on you." Drover says. "Bandy." He says and the woman turns to him. He throws a rag at her, and she hands it to me. "With all the flesh that's exposed it's goin' to hurt like hell." He told me. I take a look the bottle of ointment the woman 'Bandy' brought in and gasped. Hydrogen Peroxide sat on the sink in the bathroom, and was going to be used to clean my wound. I stuff the rag in my mouth the moment Bandy got a cloth ready with the devils liquid. I held my breath and the first touch of hydrogen peroxide met my back. I bit down hard onto the gag rag, and tears fall from my eyes. My hands clench into fists, and I pray to whatever god is out there that I don't injure myself again with my hands. Bandy apologized and continued cleaning me. It didn't take too long before she had finished what she was doing. She put the bandages on me, and exits the room. I pull my nightgown on slowly, not wanting to cause myself anymore pain. I used the wall to make my way out of the bathroom, and came face to face with Drover.

"I'm going with tomorrow." I say. He smiles a little and shrugs.

"I had a feelin' you'd say that even with the new wound." He says. He helps me back to my room and I lay on my stomach. As soon as my head hits the pillow I knew I was out. The next thing I knew I was being shaken and told to get my ass up. I smile when he leaves the room, leaving me to get dressed. I get rid of my nightgown and dress in something light, a hat and my riding boots. I moan from the pain my back caused when I got outside and say the wild stallion…still bucking, still itching to get free. Drover sit upon his horse ready to go, and Sarah waits by the gateway. She takes me in her arms and hugs me. I try not to make a noise as she hugs me, she can't know about my injury until I get back from this drove.

"You be safe all right?" She asks me.

"Yes Ma'am." I say and walk to my horse. I get myself seated and we move to the padlock containing the bulls. Drover opens the padlock and the bulls move free. With that our drove to Bowen begins…and after I'll return to Faraway Downs, my new home if that's really what I can call it.

"Ready to go?" Drover asks me.

"Let's get this over with." I say in my best Australian accent. He laughs and we push the bulls east, into the desert.


	6. Kyle

**I own Kyle and Alex so far, the other belong to 20****th**** century fox…R&R and tell me what you think…I might have pics of my characters on my profile sometime soon I'm just not sure when…enjooyy! ;) **

Damn, the Australian desert we meet again. I thought the last time I was out here was horrible, ha this time it's worse. I shift on my horse uncomfortably and let out a long groan. I take a small sip of my canteen, and wince in pain. I stop my horse and hold my side.

"Ah c'mon we're not even a mile away from Faraway Downs yet." Drover said. "No stopping." He says. I glare at him and start moving again. We made it as far as the as the cattle would move, before setting up camp. As soon as everything had calmed down I sat against a tree…totally exhausted. Drover walks over to me with some new bandages and a wet towel and I moan toward him. "Get over it." He says. "Do you want it to get infected?" He asks. I shake my head and turn around. I lift my shirt high enough for him to unwrap and clean my back without flashing everyone. He cleans my wound before putting more bandages on it. "There all done." He says. He moves away and puts the supplies away. He opens the thing he calls a bed and lays down on the ground. I see the other men do the same, and one smiles at me.

"Ladies get the couch sunshine." He winks at me. I feel my face heat up, and I look away from him. His skin was a light brown and his eyes were dark brown. He wasn't that bad looking, yet not my type. I lay down on the couch on my side. My back facing the fire, my face looking to the couch itself. My eyes fall closed and my body relaxes. I don't know how long I was out, but all too soon someone was waking me up.

"C'mon lazy bones, it's your shift to sing to the bulls." He says. Damn man! I just fell asleep. I sit up and yawn.

"Sing to the bulls?" I ask him. I turn to him and glare.

"Yea, keeps them calm at night." Drover says and gives me my hat. He walks over to his horse and seats himself. I follow the cue and saddle up on my horse. We ride out to where the bulls lay, and he starts humming. I hum as well and the bulls listen. I don't know what exactly I was singing, but it was working so I kept going. "You're pretty good at this." He says.

"I told you I've done this before." I say. I yawn and lean down on my horse. My eyes start to close again and I nearly fall asleep.

"Our shift will be over soon then you can go back to sleep." Drover said. Sure he was a nice guy, but he was too old for me…and he had Sarah. How could he fall for a runaway like me anyway? I hear other people start to wake up for their shift, and then I sit up. "All right our shift is over." Drover says. Yet I don't move, guess I'm not tired anymore. The guy flirting with me before came into view and begins humming to the bulls. He spots me staring at him and he wink's again. I roll my eyes and he approaches me.

"Hey new girl." He greets me. "Havin' fun?" He asks me. He's a nice guy, very talkative, yet nice. I give him a small smile and sigh.

"I've done this before." I say.

"Really?" He asks. "Wow! So you're really not a new girl huh?" he asks and laughs. I shrug my shoulders and start humming again. "So where you from?" He asks me.

"Wyoming." I say. He gasps and his eyes get wide.

"Wow! You're not even from here." He says. I shake my head. "What brought you here?" He asks.

"I wanted to get away." I tell him.

"Away from what?" He asks.

"My family." I say.

"You got a story to tell huh." He says. I look at him and shrug again.

"Yea, maybe I'll tell you it sometime." I tell him.

"Will you at least tell me your name?" He asks me.

"Alex…what's yours cowboy?" I ask him. He blushes at his nickname and clears his throat.

"Kyle." He says. I smile and put my hand out to him.

"Nice to meet you Kyle." I say. He grabs my hand and shakes it.

"Likewise love." He wink's.


	7. Her Story

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait, School takes up so much time. Again I own Alex, Kyle and now John everybody else belongs to Fox and Baz. R&R.**

Sun…Sand, and even more sun. That's the outback for you. Occasionally there are patches of grass next to a small river running through, but the sand is almost everywhere. I would love to know how these men are able to do this every summer, in the sun, no talking, only droving…

"Something on your mind love?" Kyle asks me.

"Not really, I'm just wondering how you do this. Every summer. No talking, just droving herds of cattle." I say.

"Well we can talk, but most times there nothing to talk about." He says. "If you want to talk, then start up a conversation." He smiles. "You could tell me your story." He says. I sigh and smile to him.

"Fine…" His smile grows wider. "I told you I grew up in Wyoming." He nods. "I am the only child to farmers. My mom picked vegetables and he grew them. I helped my mom most of the time, but if he wanted something done, I had to do it." I say.

"Who's he?" Kyle asks.

"My father…" I say. He tilts his to the left and shrugs. "What?" I ask.

"Well love you speak of him as though you hate him." He says.

"I do." Is all I say. He doesn't push the subject any farther so I continue. "I was a slave in my own house, having to do whatever he wants when he wants. The only time I ever got away was when John came to town from England. Sometimes he would take me swimming in Willow Lake." I say. Kyle laughs lightly and then looks away. "What?" I demand and glare at him.

"Nothing, it's just the way you look when you talk about him. It's almost like you love him." He says. I blush and clear my throat.

"I did." I admit. "But he was 29 when I was 10, and he had somebody." I say.

"What does he look like?" He asks. I smile and close my eyes for a moment, and then they re-open.

"He has dirty blond hair, and crystal blue eyes. He was strong too. He could pick me up with one arm." I say. Kyle shifts on his horse uncomfortably and sighs.

"Why did you leave home?" He asks.

"I couldn't take it anymore, especially when John said he was engaged." I frown and look away. I remembered that day so well…

"_John, what are you doing here?" I ask. He smiles to me and takes me in his arms._

"_I'm in love Ally." He says. At first I thought he meant with me. My heart flutters and tears of happiness fill my eyes. Then he pulls away and says, "I asked Abigail to marry me." My world stops, and my heart turns to ice. I hate him…I HATE HIM! _

"Oi Alex…" Kyle says waving a hand in my face. I look at him and try to hide the tears in my eyes. I take a deep breath and shrug.

"So I boarded a boat, thinking I was going to England and wound up here." I finish.

"Wow. Well it's a good thing you did. Oz needed a beautiful Shelia like you." He winks at me. I playfully punch him in the arm and laugh. "He's missing out, he'll never know what an amazing person you really are."

Me amazing…please.

**P.S, John is supposed to look like Ewan McGregor, and Kyle looks like Hayden Christensen with brown eyes. If you can picture that you are awesome, if not I can try and get a picture up on Hayden with brown eyes.**


	8. Walkabout

**I own Alex and Kyle, the other characters are owned by Baz and fox.**

No one has ever told me about the beauties of Australia. The small animals that roam the ground below our horses, and the small dead plants that for some reason ground out of the dead ground all intrigue me. The hot sun hitting each of our heads though, is another story. Where I'm from we have different seasons. Winter, spring fall and summer. Here there is the wet season when it rains, and summer. I'm not a big far of heat. The only thing so far I don't like about Australia. The rain is another story. Most girls back in Wyoming hated thunderstorms, they hated the sound of a thunder and the rain. I'm not like them. I love the rain. From the feeling of the rain on my skin to the sound of a loud thunder clap. Everything about them brightens my day. Call me weird, but that's what makes me… me.

"Alex?" Someone says to me, bringing me out of my thoughts. I look to the whoever was talking to me and notice we stopped. Drover sat before me with the others surrounding me. Kyle's face was painted with concern and the others look at me with confusion. "Are you alright?" Kyle asks. I look at him and nod a little.

"It's just a little hot is all." I say. They all nod and turn the horses back around. We push on toward Bowen Australia. I ride next to Drover in silence, letting my body relax just a little. He sighs and reaches behind him. He pulls a hat from a bag on the back of the horse and places it on my head.

"Don't want you to collapse again." He says without looking at me.

"Thanks." I say earning a nod from him. We ride in silence again, only listening to the sound of the small animals.

"Oi Alex look over there." Kyle says. I follow where he was pointing, and there in an open field sat a mother Kangaroo and her Joey eating what grass lay on the floor of the outback. I smile a little and watch the Joey hop around his mother.

"In a year he'll leave her and be on his own." Drover says. "He'll have his own little walkabout." He says.

"Walkabout?" I ask him.

"It's when a young aboriginal boy leaves home to become a man. Usually with an older aboriginal man." He explains.

"If you think about it, it's really not the same." I say. He looks at me confused. "He's doing this on his own. He's learning how to be an adult by himself, where walkabout is with two people." I explain. He laughs a little and watches the bulls move forward. "In some ways animals are smarter than us." I say. I look at the Joey again and watch as he hops back to his mother.

"You might be right." Drover says.

"I am right." I say and stick my tongue out.

"Have some respect Sheila. You're very lucky he even let you come along." Kyle says.

"I think you're the one who should be lucky. You got to meet a very beautiful Sheila remember." I wink at him. He blushes and looks away. The other men laugh lightly.

"Aw is Ky-Ky blushing?" One man asks.

"Shut up." Kyle says.

"You must really like the Sheila don't you?" Drover joked. Kyle's face got even redder. We all laugh and he looks away. I look up to the sky and watch as the sky turns bloody red.

"Red sky at night sailors take fright." I mumble to myself. I watch as Australia becomes this beautiful country that no one has ever told me about.


End file.
